Australia had some nervous moments but before tea on the final day of the fifth Ashes Test against England, they safely chased down a target of 160 to win by five wickets and win the series 4–1.
Seamer Josh Tang led England’s struggling rearguard with 3-42 but Alex Carey hit four through the covers in the company of Cameron Greene on Thursday to give Australia victory.
“We’ve played very well as a team,” said Steve Smith, who captained Australia for the fourth time in the series alongside Pat Cummins.
“We had some incredible individual performances but … everyone else stood up at different moments. I think that’s what makes a good team. We won those big moments throughout the series.”
England will take credit for playing in the dust of Sydney and will not be in the dust of Sydney as the previous tourists did dead rubbers in the last series at the famous old ground.
Without the bowling of injured captain Ben Stokes, however, defending 160 on a good wicket was always going to be a challenge.
Australia’s openers managed to reach the target under 100 runs in front of man-of-the-match Travis Head, whose third century of the series took his side to 567 in their first innings, with a shot over midwicket for 29 runs.
Jake Weatherold followed up on 34, again caught off the bowling of Tongue, leaving Australia 89 runs short of their target.
It was 15 years and a day since England won the last Test of the 2010-11 series at this ground by an innings and 83 runs – the last time they won an Ashes series Down Under.
An emotional bow
Usman Khawaja made his debut in that match and had one final innings before his retirement when Smith was bowled through the gate for 12 by the spin of Will Jacks.
The England players lined up to welcome Khawaja to the crease, but Tong’s bowling was less favorable and the left-hander was bowled for six after facing seven balls.
His farewell did not go as planned but Khawaja said it was a memorable occasion after a decorated career of 15 years and over 6,000 runs.
“I was trying to be cool, but I found it very difficult to control my emotions throughout the Test match,” the 39-year-old later admitted.
“It means a lot. The only thing I wanted to do was win,” he said.
“Thankful for the last final win and celebrating with my teammates.
After his dismissal, the batsman stopped at the “Thank you Ujji” sign on the ground and bowed in prayer before returning to the pavilion.
Khawaja settled in Australia from Islamabad as a child, facing the odds of becoming the country’s first Pakistani-born and first Muslim national player.
At one point, he was Australia’s only Asian first-class player and is credited as a role model who opened doors for others.
“Some people have lost family, I’m lucky my parents are still around. My family, my wife, my kids and one more on the way,” he said.
“I love cricket but life outside cricket is more important.
“A few dicey runs in there with a little pressure, but we got the job done in the end.”
Stark got the job done
England resumed batting on 302-8 but their hopes of a Test target against Australia were dealt a blow when Mitchell Starc caught Bethel for 154.
Bethel’s first Test century gave a lot of promise for the future and was essentially the difference between England and Australia’s innings defeat.
Starc (3-72) bounced back for six to end the innings on 342, with the left-arm quick then awarded Player of the Series honors for his tally of 31 wickets in five Tests.
“The body is still together and it’s a great group to be a part of,” the 35-year-old said. “I’m a little tired but the job is done.”
In Sydney, Australia triumphed in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide to regain control of the Ashes for another 18 months in just 11 days, again dominating every division.
England won the draw for the fourth Test in Melbourne – their first win in Australia since Sydney in 2011 – but the fate of the “baseball” style of play was thrown into doubt after a 4-1 defeat that began with high hopes.
“We haven’t won the big series that we want to win,” Stokes said.
“When a trend is happening on a consistent basis … that’s when you have to step back and look at the drawing board and make some adjustments.”
